Door fastener



Aug. 18, 1925.

DE LOS A. LAWTON DOOR FASTENER Filed Oct. 22, 1923 Ztl- Q- Patented Aug. 18, 1.925.

t DE Los n. LAw'roN, or noun, NEW Your.

Door. rAs'rENEB.

Application filed October 22, 1923. Serial No. 669,981.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, DE Los A. LAw'roN, a citizen of the United States of America, of Rome in the county of Oneida, in the State of lWew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Door Fasteners, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a catch or fastener for doors, drawers and other swinging or sliding closures and involves the use of a pair of opposed spring jaws on one of the parts as for example, the door or drawer adapted to frictionally engage opposite sides of a keeper on the other part such as the door casing or fixed part of a cabinet for frictionally holding the closure l in its closed position. and permitting it to be readily opened at will.

The main object is to provide a catch or fastener of this character in which the keeper and friction lock cooperate to not only frictionally hold the closure in its closed position but also limit the closing movement of the closure and to support said closure against sagging when closed.

Another object is to enable the keeper` and lock to be easily and quickly installed and firmly held in operative position without the use of screws or other turning elements. l

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts oi the device will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of al cabinet having a door and jam equipped with my improved catch or fastener.

Figures 2 and 3 are enlarged longitudinal and transverse sectional views taken respectively on lines 2 2, and 3 3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspectivel view of the main body of the case for receiving the spring lock.

Fi re 5 is a perspective view of the cover for t e lock case.

In order'that my invention' may be clesrly understood, I have shown a portion of a cabinet case -'A- having a door A-` hinged` at -aalong one of its upright edges tov swing into an `opening in the case with its free edge adjacent the door jam as -aof the case -A-.

The free edge of the door is provided with a suitable friction lock. adapted to cooperate with a keeper, and the adjacent edge of the door jamb or stile for' holding the door in its closed position and also for supporting the door against sagging' and limiting its inward swinging movement.

The locking device preferably comprises a cylindrical cup-shape casing -1- having a circular 1cover plate -2- suitably applied to the open side of the casing to form an interyening chamber for the reception and retention of a pair of ppposed spring jaws 3- which `preferably form the ends of a circular spring ring las shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 3.

The casing -1- is provided with a base plate -5- and a marginal flange 6 projecting therefrom. The base plate -5- and marginal flange -6- are provided with a radial slot -7 extending inwardly from one side thereof and concentrically around the axis thereof for receiving the keeper presently described.

The locking ring -4- Ais seated within the casing -1- against the side walls thereof and is preferably divided through one side between the spring jaws-S- to form a passage -8 for the keeper, said passage being registered vwith the slot -7- when the ring is properly assembled in the case.

The spring jaws extend inwardly ato posite sides of a passage -8- beyond t e axis of the casing and are preferably curved in opposite directions to' conform to the curvature of the keeper and are spring tensioned toward each other to frictionally grip the periphery of said keeper, the curved inner ends of the jaws bein substantially concentric with the axis of t e casing. f

The marginal edge or ange -6- of the.

casing -1-- is provided with a plurality of, in this instance three, bendable tongues -9- which after the spring ring -4- has been placed in operative position, are bent over and u on the inner face of the rin to hold the atter in place.

The cover plate -2- is provided with a plurality of, in this instance four, slots or notches inf uniformly spaced retus'v v edge of the door.

The plate -2- is first placed in the socket 15- flatwise against the inner wall thereof and is secured in place by driving the nail 'or screw I4- through the opening l2- and into the door until its head y is seated firmly against the outer face of the jplate wholly within the depression 1B-,it being understood' that the plate Q- had been properly adjusted to enable or recesses l0- when the casing is adjusted for use. A

After. the plate -2- has been properly secured in place, the casing -1-' with the spring jaws ,3- therein is inserted in the socket l--15- in the edge of the'door with its spurs -1lregistering with the slots Vor notches l0- and `is then driven or pressed into place to cause its spurs to pass through-the slots -10- and into the wood of they door with its slot -7- extending -horizontally and its open side facing inwardly, the spurs being of sufficient length to extend some distance' beyond the plate and into the door to firmly hold the case and plate in operative position against relative rotation and also against endwise movement.

The inner side of the free edge ofl the door is also provided with a slot -16- registering with the slot -7- and of just sufficient vertical height to receive the keeper or rather, about the same vertical width as the slot 7.- as sh'own more clearly in Figure 3. v

The keeper consists in this instance, of a cylindrical stud '17- having a tapered tween the stud and tapered shank.

l The keeper is placed in operative positionwith its stud -17- in the path of movement of the slot -7- of the casing 7*1 byy driving its tapered shank -18- into the adjacent edgeof 'the door jam or casing -1- as Ishown in Figure 2 until the flange .-l9- is firmly impinged against the inneredge of the casing thereby allowing the stud 17 to project into the door` opening in registration ,with the slot -7-"- .es -when the door is closed.

When the keeper is properly secured in 2- so as to permit said stud to readily enter the slot -7- and passage 8 and between the jaws -3 when the door is closed, under which conditions, the inner Y end wall of the slot -7- will serve as a stop for limiting the inward swinging movement of the door while the' upper and lower Walls of the slot will also serve to ride upon the corresponding faces of the studs -17- to guide the door in its closing-movement and also to hold the door against vertical movement relatively to the casing.

The inner and outer ends of the jaws 3 are normally spaced a distance apart less than the diameter of the stud 17- and are tensioned toward each other, whereby when the door is closed they will ride upon opposite sides of the periphery of the stud until their concave faces are registered with the adjacent side of the stud -17- whereupon they are automatically spring pressed againstthe stud to frictionally'hold the door in its closed position and still permit the door to be easily opened by the usual pulll or knob, against the action of the spring jaws when desired.

If desired, the shank .-18- and nail *lll* may be provided with spurs or otherwise roughened to more firmly hold them in operative position as shown iny Figure 2.

By making the case -1 and its cover plate -2- circular the socket -15- for receiving them may be easily and quickly' bored to the desired size to enable them to lit snugly therein. 1

The device is 'shown 4as applied to the door of a cabinet but obviously, it may be used as av fastener for drawers and other closures and the structural parts may be varied within4 certain limits without departing from the spirit of this invention, and therefore, do not wish to limit myself to the precise construction shown and described.

A door fastener comprising a circular disc 4having peripheral 'notches in circumferentially spaced relation and a circularg cup-shaped member of substantially the same diameter as the disk and having its open end provided with spurs entering said notches and adapted to be driven into the door to hold the disk and cup-shaped membei' in operative position thereon, the outer end wall of the. cup-shaped member being provided with a radial slot opening through the periphery thereof, a spring ring seated against the innerfa'ces. of the periph-eral'.

walls of the cup-shaped member and having its ends at opposite sides of the slot returned inwardly at opposite sides of the axis of said member to form spring jaws -w and Va, keeper having onev end adapted .to

be driven into the door frame and'its other end provided with a circular boss projecting-into the path of movement of the sotv in the door to be :rictionally engaged b l0 ysaid jaws when the door is closed for hol ing the door in its closed position. v

In witness whereof' I have hereunto Set my hand this 15th day -of October, 1923.

DE Los A. LAWTON. 

